Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia 1939-1945 During a walking tour when people ask me what was it like in Czechoslovakia during World War Two they are always surprised at my answer “there was no Czechoslovakia in World War Two”. A Mental Picture Try to picture a situation of somebody in Prague listening to the radio … Read More
The Winged Lion On one side of the Lesser Town is an area called Klárov. It has a small open area of ground with two monuments dedicated to World War Two. One of them is the Winged Lion. The Winged Lion is specifically dedicated to 2513 Czechs and Slovaks who fought as pilots and air … Read More
Book Review – Franci’s War Ten years ago I first wrote about Stolpersteine in Prague. Four years ago I met Gunter Demnig the man who ran the project and so I wrote about them again. Two years ago a friend published a book about the 460 Stolpersteine that were in Prague at the time so … Read More
The WW2 Prague Uprising A frequent question on my walking tours is whether the centre of Prague was bombed during World War Two because it looks so old. I answer this question more fully on my World War Two Walking Tour but in summary, yes it was bombed but no the majority of any damage … Read More
Book Review – Out of the Midst of the Fire On my Journey of a Torah Scroll post you’ll have read about my chance encounter with Rabbi David Maxa in Prague where he mentioned an interesting story of how a Torah Scroll taken by the Nazis in World War Two and sold by the Communist … Read More
Charles Square It’s probably not going to be on your top ten list when visiting Prague but Charles Square is an historic area which today is a park bisected by two main roads but it has an active past so I’ll describe why it is here, some of it’s colourful history, why you might like … Read More
WW2 Memorials – Josef Skalda There are thousands of memorials in the city and a large number relate to events and characters of World War Two. As I was passing this particular memorial I happened to notice that there was a lot of detail with a word that I had never seen before – SŤAT. … Read More
Famous Czechs – Karel Hašler Every year thousands of people are walking up or down the Old Castle Steps at the back of Prague Castle and at the top of the steps they walk past (and briefly look at) a sculpture of a man with his legs crossed, leaning against the wall and playing a … Read More
The Beneš Decrees As I write this, Ukraine is being invaded by Russia, some towns are being occupied and Russian supporting people are being put in public administrative positions. It made me think of events in Czech in 1945 when the occupying power was kicked out and retribution swiftly followed against those considered, rightly or … Read More
1948 Communist Coup All over this website on the historical and political posts as well as many of the attractions you’ll see me refer to the “Communist takeover” or the “Communist coup d’etat” which is still referred to historically as “Victorious February” by our local communist party. It’s worth taking some time to see where … Read More